Restoring Coastal Ecosystems in Southeast New England SNEP Watershed Grants Program
Today’s Session • Margherita Pryor, US EP A • Tom Ardito, RAE • Heidi Travers, RI Dept. of Environmental Management • Ed Tanner, Town of Bristol, RI • Andrew S ilvia, City of Pawtucket, RI • Kate McPherson, S ave The Bay • April Wobst, Association to Preserve Cape Cod • Erin Perry Cape Cod Commission • Caitlin Alcott, Inter-Fluve • Discussion
S outheast New England Program (S NEP) Margherita Pryor, US EP A
S outheast New England Program (S NEP) Margherita Pryor, US EP A What is SNEP? A regional scale collaboration to reconnect the coastal watersheds and communities of southeast New England through innovation, ecosystem approaches to restoration, and a focus on social, economic, and environmental solutions to bring us from ……. To this By doing this This
S outheast New England Program (S NEP) What does SNEP do? Empowers collective action to improve water quality, restore habitat, and sustain ecosystem services and functions Foster collaboration among regional partners across southeast New England’s coastal watersheds to protect and restore water quality , ecological health and diverse habitats by sharing knowledge and resources, promoting innovative approaches, and leveraging economic and environmental investments to meet the needs of current and future generations.
S outheast New England Program (S NEP) Margherita Pryor, US EP A WHERE is SNEP?
S outheast New England Program (S NEP) Achievements: Project Distribution by Program • $22 million in funding since 2014 Goal Goal 5: Leverage Existing Efforts • S trong diverse stakeholder collaboration Regional funding opportunities • Partnership with Restore America’s Estuaries Challenges: Goal 4: Goal 1: Innovative • Lack of formal program authorization Watershed Solutions Resilience Continuing program and funding uncertainty • Communicating Results • Alignment of diverse stakeholder priorities Goal 3: Assess, Goal 2: Sustainable Track & Communities Communicate
S NEP Watershed Grants Tom Ardito, RAE Concept: • S upport Implementation of S NEP Mission & Goals • Build Local and Regional Capacity to Restore Coastal Watersheds and Ecosystems • Foster Effective Partnerships • S upport Innovation
S NEP Watershed Grants Grantmaking Process • Two-step RFP to broaden participation • Open to Munis, S tates, Regional Commissions, NFPs and Tribes • Independent, interdisciplinary review committee • Requests up to $500k • 2018: Received 60 pre-proposals requesting $20M • Awarded 14 grants totaling $4.3M • MA, RI and interstate proj ects • $2M planned for 2019 • Continuity is key
2018 S NEP Watershed Grants
Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring in Narragansett Bay Heidi Travers, Angelo Liberti Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management - Office of Water Resources Heather S toffel, University of Rhode Island Partners:
NBFSMN Program Partners Operating Stations in the Network and Providing Data Access: RIDEM‐OWR, URI/GSO, Narragansett Bay Commission, NBNERR, MA DEP, NERACOOS. The NBFSMN is a collaborative effort to continuously monitor physical water quality parameters at 14 stations within Narragansett Bay, primarily from May – October, annually. Purpose and Goals: Upgrade three key stations within the Narragansett Bay Fixed Site Monitoring Network with the latest water quality sensors and provide real-time access to the data. These long- term sentinel stations consist of data back to 2001.
Buoy Design and Methodology Diagram and sonde photo courtesy of YSI/Xylem Integrated Systems Methodology : Three seasonal buoys in Upper Narragansett Bay will be equipped with network compatible equipment (YSI Brand). This area is critical for evaluating the recent management decisions to reduced nitrogen loadings to the bay. This project will provide web‐based data delivery, custom data acquisition and data visualization systems using network partnered data portals.
Web-Based Data Delivery ry, , Custom Data Acquisition and Data Visualization Systems using Data Portals Data portal under development to provide Provide real-time data access to Narragansett Bay visualizations with custom relevant data. Daily average graphing and the ability for region data from the network. wide station comparisons Long-Term data warehouse for all data from NBFSMN. Provide weekly seasonal interpretations of real-time data for public users.
Restoring the Wood/ Pawcatuck Watershed Heidi Travers, RI Dept. of Environmental Management
Wood/ Pawcatuck Watershed Restoration • Bi-state collaboration between CTDEEP and RIDEM • Proj ect location: Pawcatuck Watershed and Estuary which is shared by both states • Goal: Restore water quality in support of healthy aquatic communities, eel grass and recreational uses
Wood/ Pawcatuck Watershed Restoration Purpose: Develop a new watershed-focused approach to identifying and manage nutrient inputs int o coastal estuaries Tasks • Enhancement and development of an HS PF model calibrated for flow, nutrients and sediments • Collection of water quality data within watershed to support model development Proj ect Goals • Develop a technical approach for the study watershed that can be applied to other watersheds and coastal estuaries • Provide a tool that can be used to develop implement ation strategies • Collaborate and engage with partners within watershed to support proj ect outcomes and future implementation activities
Managing Golf Course Runoff to Restore Bristol Harbor Edward M. Tanner, Bristol, Rhode Island
Goals Goals: • Improve water quality of two tributaries that flow into Narragansett Bay • Enhance functions of freshwater wetland habitat • Increase flood storage capacity
Background • 26 acre, 9 hole, municipal golf course • Reduced to current size in 1980’s • Wetlands piped, filled, and channeled • Maintained turf to edge of wetlands. • Water quality monitoring downstream in Silver Creek and Bristol Harbor • Elevated levels of nutrients, bacteria, low DO
S NEP Grant Proj ect • Site assessment • Engineering Design • Permitting • Construction • Monitoring • Public education and outreach
Vision • Restore functions of wetlands • Reconnect and “daylight” streams • Native vegetation and buffers • Improve habitat and flood storage • Project Partners • Town of Bristol (project administration, oversight and permitting) • Save the Bay (education and outreach) • Save Bristol Harbor (monitoring)
“Green & Complete Streets” to Restore Clean Water and Urban Environments Andrew S ilvia, City of Pawtucket, RI
WHAT PROBLEMS ARE WE TR YING TO S OL VE? Economic Headwinds • Low median household income ($40K ± ) • Recent, high-profile business departures Thoroughly Auto-centric Development and Policies No paid parking of any kind in the City Little enforcement of parking restrictions Personal vehicle ownership makes transportation #1 household expense for low-income families Pawtucket has 6.8% of state’s population, but 10.1% of bicycle-automobile crashes Environmental Hazards • 70% ± of City land covered by impervious surface, virtually tied for highest in RI Hot, unhealthy environment for residents Combined sewer system has capacity issues, frequent CS Os • All three City rivers have been assigned TMDLs • Industrial history & legacy of contamination
ADDITIONAL IMPETUS FOR OUR “GREEN & COMPLETE STREETS” PROJECT • New commuter rail and bus transit hub (ETA 2021) • New 160-acre, Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) District will surround station, designed to: • Foster high-density, transit-adj acent development • Increase mobility via alternate, low/ zero- carbon transportation modes • Very high visibility location, ideal for demonstration proj ect
OUR “GREEN & COMPLETE STREETS” PROJECT • First “Green & Complete Street” project in the City • We will demonstrate: • How to implement at least four unique stormwater treatment practices in ROW • Use of green stormwater infrastructure to protect bicyclists and pedestrians from vehicles • Use of green stormwater infrastructure to activate a neighborhood • Low-cost GS I performance evaluation through partnership with Nature Conservancy • S tormwater Master Plan • Use GS I treatment volumes to develop bank of credits to incentivize development • Maintenance Documentation • Four new short Y ouTube videos • DPW staff will demonstrate how to maintain GS I
A Comprehensive Plan to Restore Water Quality in Hundred Acre Cove Kate McPherson, S ave The Bay
The Problem: • Hundred Acre Cove is an embayment in Narragansett Bay • The waters of HAC are impaired by bacteria pollution and have been permanently closed to shellfishing since the 1990s . • Towns, State agencies, and Watershed Associations in RI and MA have tried to pinpoint sources of pollution of the Runnins River, with mixed results • Recreational users of HAC are likely unaware of its chronic water pollution problems.
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